I'm Dave, a freelancer based in Bristol, UK. I've been doing design, front-end development and technical writing for over 12 years and remote working for just over 2 years.
Setup
Despite this not being a "Pro" machine, it works incredibly well for front-end web development and design. It's running 16GB of RAM and a 1TB of storage. The display is the best part.
Having Touch ID is amazing for unlocking apps and making purchases.
This ones blue.
Solid headphones, battery lasts ages and noise cancelling is great. Does need breaking in though if you have a big head like me.
A bit on the large size, however it's really saved me from catching my Magic Mouse on the stickers.
Clamped to the back of my tabletop.
Had this microphone for years but it still does an amazing job for calls and podcast recording.
This is the M1 version which I picked up when they launched, again with 16GB of RAM and 1TB storage. This was my main machine until the iMac turned up. Now it's my portable workstation.
Simple leather wallet to transport my MacBook Pro.
My good friend Rafael Conde gifted this to me and I love it. It's one of those things that you're never sure you need until you buy one. I'll make myself an Americano or a filter coffee and won't have to worry about it getting cold.
I don't take notes often, but it's great to have one within reach when in meetings.
Also clamped to the back of my tabletop.
These prop up an old tabletop from a previous job.
It plays audio via Bluetooth, and can play rainfall sounds. Those are the only features I really use.
Despite this not being a "Pro" machine, it works incredibly well for front-end web development and design. It's running 16GB of RAM and a 1TB of storage. The display is the best part.
Having Touch ID is amazing for unlocking apps and making purchases.
This ones blue.
Solid headphones, battery lasts ages and noise cancelling is great. Does need breaking in though if you have a big head like me.
A bit on the large size, however it's really saved me from catching my Magic Mouse on the stickers.
Clamped to the back of my tabletop.
Had this microphone for years but it still does an amazing job for calls and podcast recording.
This is the M1 version which I picked up when they launched, again with 16GB of RAM and 1TB storage. This was my main machine until the iMac turned up. Now it's my portable workstation.
Simple leather wallet to transport my MacBook Pro.
My good friend Rafael Conde gifted this to me and I love it. It's one of those things that you're never sure you need until you buy one. I'll make myself an Americano or a filter coffee and won't have to worry about it getting cold.
I don't take notes often, but it's great to have one within reach when in meetings.
Also clamped to the back of my tabletop.
These prop up an old tabletop from a previous job.
It plays audio via Bluetooth, and can play rainfall sounds. Those are the only features I really use.
I think the most notable part of my setup is the stickers plastered all over my desk. This tabletop was given to me by and old job, which is not propped up by a couple of IKEA units. Not long ago I began adding all the stickers I've collected over the years, as I didn't know what else to do with them. I'm not sure what tabletop it is, I think it's from IKEA but I don't think it matches any of their current sizes.
Oh and my Converse pencil case, which is actually an old glasses case. I like the smaller form factor.
Tools
I've really been digging Nova editor recently from Panic. While I hear people really enjoy the use of VS Code I've just not gotten on well with it, that being said maybe I'm just a diehard Coda fan. I'll sometimes spin up Pixelmator Classic just to edit image assets and graphics.
Since switching to M1 machines I've been trying Safari as my main browser, which is good however I do miss some of the developer tools in Chrome.
I use a combination of Spark email and Slack for communication with my clients, and Discord for keeping up with the web development community.
Work
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A myriad of freelance projects, mostly focusing on Jamstack architecture as well as building sites using Ghost. If you're looking to use Ghost for your next project you can check out my Ghost Developer Expert page. I also write on my own blog as well as others over at https://david.darn.es.
